Secrets
by Mrs. George Eads
Summary: Milander is dead. Jennifer realizes how close she came to being his victim. Her nightmares begin and a shocking discovery will change her and Nick's life forever.
1. Default Chapter

"So, is the sheriff working on the you're dead story?" Nick asked as he poured a cup of coffee in his kitchen. "Oh god. I just realized something."  
  
"What?" Jennifer asked sitting down looking at the paper.  
  
"I had sex with a dead person last night." He laughed. He looked at Jennifer who shot him a look. "You think your dad heard us last night?"  
  
"Don't know. He's a deep sleeper." She grinned. "The Sheriff is making a press release this morning. You know him. And yes, he's actually going to make the press release himself."  
  
"I'm just glad this all finally over with." He paused. "I don't know what I'd do with out you." He smiled. "So your dad knows huh?"  
  
"Yeah he does. But he's okay with it. Thank you for letting him stay here." Jen smiled.  
  
"It's no problem at all. He wants to go back to work today." She began. "Despite him almost being killed."  
  
"Well he knows we're going back and he just doesn't want to sit around doing nothing. I can see his point. But he does need his rest." Nick explained.  
  
"And I've still got that murder case to finish. I'm going to be pulling a double tonight." She sighed as she glanced over the story about Milander's death.  
  
"How about, you leave that case. You've been working so hard to help your dad get better, and you need some time off. Let's just pack our bags and go to La Jolla." He grinned.  
  
"California?"  
  
"Yeah. You deserve a break and I want you to have fun." He said. "So what do you say? We leave in a half hour."  
  
"We can do that?" She asked quizzically. Nick nodded. "But what about the cases."  
  
"Wasn't Catherine and Warrick working with you? Sara would love to help and I'm sure they can double up. So what do you say?" He smiled.  
  
"Half an hour huh?" She asked. "What about fifteen minutes." She stood up, "I bet I can back faster than you can." She rushed over to the bedroom.  
  
"Hey! You never counted to three!" Nick said laughing heading off for the bedroom.  
  
  
  
"Hey Cath, Nick just called. He's taking Jen to California for a vacation." Sara announced walking into the break room.  
  
"She's been through a lot. Grissom almost being killed, Jennifer almost being killed. We could have lost both of them." Warrick said.  
  
"Lose who?" Grissom asked walking around the corner.  
  
"Grissom!" They all shrieked. "What are you doing back?" Sara asked with her voice animated.  
  
"Work. I'm the supervisor and I can't stay away. We have crimes to solve. So, now that Jennifer and Nick are gone, Catherine I'll be working with you on any crimes and Sara.." he said turning towards her. "You'll be working with Warrick."  
  
"Grissom you really shouldn't be here." Catherine said. "You need to rest. You were nearly killed."  
  
"I know, but Milander is gone and well there's work to be done." He paused. "Isn't there a murder you and Jenn were working on?"  
  
"Yeah." Catherine said flatly.  
  
"Well, you and I can work on it. Shall we?" He asked extending his hand. 


	2. Secrets- Chapter 2

"Wow, this place is amazing." Jennifer said as she walked into the hotel room. "How did you pick this place?"  
  
"I've got my little secrets. Besides, you need some time off and your dad needs some rest." Nick said helping her with her suitcases.  
  
"Knowing my dad Nick, he's probably itching to get back to work. He's never missed a day of work since I was young." I sat down on the edge of the bed. "It's been a while since I've been back in California."  
  
"Where did you say you were from originally?" He asked.  
  
"Van Nuys. My mom is actually from Nebraska. She came here to California for school. She wanted to get away from her farm life. Well, not really a farm life. Don't get me wrong, I love Nebraska. But it's just land, and trees. She came to California, and hasn't returned since. Well maybe some visits here and there, but never to live there. California was her calling." She explained.  
  
"Is your dad originally from Vegas?"  
  
"Nope. Santa Monica. I was born in Los Angeles, but my mom moved to Van Nuys and then my dad when I was three got called to Vegas."  
  
"And you didn't mind being carted back and forth?" Nick quizzed.  
  
"Nah. I loved it. It was like going on vacation every month. I spend grades one to three in Vegas. Then four to seven in California. Then eight to ten in Vegas, then back home to California. I loved it. It never disturbed my education, or my emotional state as some psychologists may say. I really, really loved it." Jennifer smiled. "What about you?"  
  
"Born and raised in Dallas. Never went anywhere else. Well maybe vacations, but that's about it. You're life sounds more exciting than mine." He smiled. "So, are you up for lunch?"  
  
"Lunch, Nick. It's almost five. How about dinner." She said getting up from the edge of the bed.  
  
"Sounds good to me. Is the restaurant downstairs okay?"  
  
"You read my mind Mr. Stokes." She laughed as the began their walk to the elevator.  
  
  
  
"Gil, are you sure you're up to this? Jennifer told you to stay home and rest." Catherine retorted.  
  
"As you know, Jennifer is my daughter. And I am her father. I think I out rule her there in that decision."  
  
"Grissom, she's just looking out for you, that's all." Catherine responded.  
  
"I know. But I feel fine. And this work needs to get done before we get more cases piled up. Now, Cath, did you find anything on the case that you and Jen were working on?" He asked.  
  
"Sara came up with a match. The fingerprints belong to a Cardone Sanchez. We're going to get Brass and head over for questioning ASAP." Catherine said. "Robbins is still working on who the body belongs to. He's got odentology working on the teeth for dental matches. I'll let you know if he finds anything."  
  
"Yes, please do." He paused. "Oh and Cath."  
  
"Yeah Gil?" She asked spinning on her heels.  
  
"Thanks. For what you did with Jen and the rest... I really appreciate it." He smiled which was a rarity.  
  
"Well, if anything happened to you, it just wouldn't be the same without you around here." She flashed a smile. Paused then went down the hall. 


	3. Secrets- Chapter 3

"No, daddy no." Jennifer cried. "Please, don't leave me."  
  
Gil looked up at his only daughter with drained out eyes. He gathered all the strength that he could and reached his arm up to hers and placed his hand there. "Don't worry Jen. I'll be okay." He tried to smile. "I just want you to know, that I am so proud of you. For everything you have done and will do in the future. Tell your mother that I love her." He took one final breath. "I love you my baby girl." His breathing stopped and his head turned to the side  
  
"NO!" Jennifer screamed out with tears in her eyes. She burried her head into his chest and cried, more like screaming. She calmed down after a few seconds, now anger raging. She, without Milander noticing, pulled Grissom's gun from the holster and brought it close to her chest. "So you won." She said. "You killed my father."  
  
"He has to pay for what happened. I'm so sorry Jennifer." He said trying to be apologettic, but didn't succeed.  
  
"Yeah." She slowly rose. "Well, it's your turn to pay." She shot up and spun around on the balls of her heels. She pointed the gun and Milander and pulled the trigger.  
  
BANG!  
  
Jennifer shot up from the deep sleep that she was in, drenched in sweat. Her breathing was very rapid, panting almost. She looked around the dark room. She was safe. She turned to her right. Nick was sleeping, naked under the sheets. She wiped her face with her hand and layed back down, staring at the ceiling. 'It was just a dream.' She thought to herself. Just a dream.  
  
  
  
"You paged." Catherine said walking into Greg's lab.  
  
"Yes." He smiled. "Your roids found in the mucus from the sneeze, they're not the stuff to pump you up."  
  
Catherine sighed. "What?"  
  
"I did a further test to break down the chemical compound. They are steroids, but they're legal. Kids use them all the time." He said.  
  
She peered at him. "Kids use them?"  
  
"Short of breath?" He questioned.  
  
"Greg! Would you stop with your ridd..." She paused. "Breathing. Asthma."  
  
"Correct. Miss CSI gets a gold star." He said with sarcasm.  
  
Catherine rolled her eyes. "What's in it?"  
  
"The main active ingredient is epinephine. It's synthetic and it's commonly used to treat asthma and hives. This stuff is also found in Eppi-pins. Now you said you had a suspect right?" Greg asked.  
  
"Yeah." She paused. "I think it's time we visit him and ask what's in his medicine cabinet. Thanks Greg." She smiled and peeled out of the lab in search of Sara.  
  
  
  
Jen lay on her left side staring at the clock. 1:32am it read. After the nightmare she couldn't get back to sleep. It really did frighten her. Many thoughts were running through her head. Should she stay in California, or head back to Vegas to make sure her dad was okay? She felt Nick move beside her, but didn't bother to check. She felt his lips on the nape of her neck and his hand on her shoulder. She shivered at the stroke of his touch.  
  
"Nick." She said, not in a sultry way, but more in a bothersome tone.  
  
"Shh, don't say anything." He instructed. He slid his hand under her shirt and began his way sliding his hand along her toned stomach. She stopped him halfway.  
  
"Not now." She barked. She moved further away. Nick taken a back by the tone of her voice. She never turned away his offerings. Ever. Why now he thought, but didn't want to even bother. He's probably just upset her even more.  
  
"Fine. Sorry I even bothered." He spat back hurt by her actions. She slid out of the bed, grabbed a pillow and slid his boxers on.  
  
Jennifer turned around to face him. "Where are you going now?"  
  
"I'm going to sleep on the couch. Since you don't want me." He explained.  
  
"Nick." She sighed. "I want you to stay here, but I just don't feel like having sex at the moment. I. I just, don't."  
  
"Fine. I'm still sleeping on the couch." He turned around and walked out of the bedroom.  
  
Jen flopped her head onto the pillow and rolled her eyes. What an ego this guy has, she thought. She looked at the clock. 1:39am. She sighed once more and closed her eyes, praying that another nightmare would not fill her head. 


	4. Secrets- Chapter 4

"Can I help you?" Mr. Sanchez asked as Catherine, Sara and Brass stood there looking on.  
  
"Yes, my name is Catherine Willows and this is Sara Sidle. We're with the crime lab and this is Captain Jim Brass. Were here to ask you a few questions about your whereabouts on Monday around midnight."  
  
"What is this all about?" He blurted out.  
  
"Sir, your fingerprints were found at a scene of a murder. And since you have priors we were able to match your fingerprints from the fingerprint database." Sara said.  
  
"If you don't want to comply, we do have a warrant." Jim said holding up the piece of paper handing it to him and shoved his way past the tall latin man.  
  
"This is ridiculous. I was sleeping then." He shouted.  
  
"Do you know anyone that can back you up?" Sara asked.  
  
"No. I live on my own and how would anyone know?"  
  
"Where's your bathroom sir?" Catherine asked.  
  
"Didn't your mother ever tell you to go before you left to go anywhere?" He said sarcastically. The look on Catherine's face didn't comply with his dry sense of humor. "First door on your right."  
  
"Bedroom?"  
  
"It's next to the john."  
  
"What makes you think I was there. Anyone can plant prints. Look at that Milander guy." Sanchez pointed out. "He was placing prints all over the crime scene."  
  
"He's dead." Brass said flatly. Sanchez rolled his eyes.  
  
Catherine searched the bathroom for any asthma medication while Sara searched the bedroom. Sara looked in the bedside table first and found something interesting.  
  
"Mr. Sanchez? Are you having trouble breathing?" She asked.  
  
"What's it to ya?" He sneered.  
  
"Just answer the question." Brass demanded.  
  
"I have asthma. Plus I've got a cold so those two don't mix well." He explained.  
  
Sara looked at Catherine who was standing at the doorway of the bedroom. They exchanged glances and they Sara finally emurged and nodded at Brass.  
  
"Okay, Mr. Sanchez. You're being arrested for murder." He said taking is cuffs from the holder.  
  
"What? For who? Who did I murder?" He demanded.  
  
"That we don't know yet. We're going to take you down and you're going to tell us. And if you refuse to, we have our ways of finding out." Catherine said.  
  
"Torture?"  
  
"Evidence." Sara said bluntly. 


	5. Secrets- Chapter 5

"Jen, are you okay?" Nick asked standing on the oposite side of the bathroom door. "You've been in there for almost an hour."  
  
Jen sat with her back against the wall with her head in a hand. Her face was beat red and could feel how hot it was. "I'm.. I'm fine." She said lying. Her head was pounding. It's been a while since she came face first with porcelain.  
  
"Are ya sure?" He asked with genuine concern.  
  
"I think it was something I ate." Again, lying.  
  
"I can get you something like fizzy water from the lounge or something for your stomach."  
  
"No, it's okay. But thank you. I'll be out soon." She sighed.  
  
"Okay. I'm gonna go to the lounge anyways. I'll be back later." He said then walked out the door. She heard the door close behind him.  
  
She knew why she was sick, but she couldn't tell him now. They were having a great time in La Hoya. It was actually nice to get away from the daily grind of solving crimes and having to look at dead bodies every single day. How would he take it? Would he freak out on her, would he scream at her? Would he leave her? That's all she could think about.  
  
She grabbed the edge of the sink and got up slowly. She was still dizzy. Jennifer turned on the cold water tap, leaned down and splashed her face with the ice cold water, which felt good on her boiling skin. After looking in the mirror for a silent five minutes, she finally opened the door and walked into the bedroom. She flipped through the channels. Nothing really interesting on. Sally talked about fourteen year old girls who wanted babies. Maury's guests wanted a paterinty test to see who the real baby daddy is. And well Days of Our Lives just plain sucked. But since there was nothing else interesting on, she watched it anyways.  
  
"J.T will be my little brother no matter what that test says Belle. He's my brother and I'm going to do whatever necessary to keep him with my family." Shawn roared at his girlfriend. She stood there silent as they drove along in his fathers truck with John-Thomas sitting in the middle in a baby seat.  
  
"Damnit. He probably has his phone turned off." Bo screamed as he slammed the phone down. He knew about their plan when he saw the truck speed out of the Brady drive way.  
  
Jennifer rolled her eyes. What kind of television was this? 'And this is what they call entertainment?' She picked up the remote and flipped through the channels again. Well at least Trading Spaces on TLC was decent. She heard the card lock beep. Nick was back. That was fast, but she didn't budge from where she was. She was still feeling week.  
  
"Hey." He said walking around the corner. "Are you feeling better?" He asked as he sat down next to her.  
  
"A little." She paused and zoned out for a while. He looked at her, but then she finally spoke. "Nick.."  
  
"Yeah?" He said munching on some peanuts he brought back from the vending machine.  
  
"There's something I have to tell you." She said staring at the TV not evening facing him..  
  
"What is it?" He asked throwing another handful of peanuts in his mouth. 


	6. Secrets- Chapter 6

"So you're telling me that the mucus fairy just dropped your DNA on the car window?" Catherine sneered.  
  
"I guess so because I never murdered anyone." Sanchez protested. "Maybe it was planted, like that guy. Milander, you know his fingerprints."  
  
Catherine rolled her eyes. If this guy mentioned his name one more time she was going to choke him. "So, your fingerprints, and your DNA telling us that this medication here," she pointed out holding the inhaler in her hand, "that was found in your snot that was on the window, was planted by some sick, twisted guy who collects your mucus from your nose. Now tell me Mr. Sanchez. How did that happen. Did he or she just visit you in the dead of sleep and steal your DNA?" She spat out.  
  
Sara looked on with bugged out eyes. "We also found something else very interesting on the corpse. And well it leads right back to you."  
  
He looked at the floor then back up at Catherine and Sara and a quiet Brass sitting in the corner of the room. "And what is that?"  
  
"Your epithelials. He scratched you. Didn't he?"  
  
There was a dark silence. You could hear the printer in ballistics. You could hear the ringing of footsteps in the hallway. It was almost eerie. Sanchez rolled his eyes and sighed.  
  
"The bastard won my money." He said.  
  
"Your money?" Sara asked.  
  
"I went to the bathroom. I forgot to tip my seat so no one would steal it. He popped in a few quarters and won the jackpot. Fifty mil. In his pocket and not mine. It's true. Money is evil. I should have kept my cool, but I didn't." He paused. "One quarter on his first try. That's all it took and he won."  
  
"What happened after he won?" Catherine asked.  
  
"I walked up to him and said....."  
  
'Hey man! That's my machine! You took my machine!"  
  
'I don't see your name on it. It's my machine now.'  
  
Then the lights went off... 3 sevens were visable on the screen.  
  
'And it's my money now bub. You snooze you lose.'  
  
"So I waited. Till he went to the parkade."  
  
"The gun that we found under the seat belonged to this man." Catherine added.  
  
"I made it look like he killed himself. Like he committed suicide. I popped up beside him, scared the asshole. I put the gun in his hand and pulled the trigger, then I took off."  
  
"But before you did," Brass started. "You sneezed. And now you're under arrest for the murder of Adam Carson." Brass stood Sanchez up and cuffed him escorting him down the hall.  
  
Sara and Catherine walked out of the interrogation room and into their office. "Now I can get some sleep." Sara said. "I have never been so tired in my life before."  
  
"I promised Lindsey that I'd take her to dance rehersal." Catherine smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow okay?" Sara nodded as Catherine walked out of the office and to her car.  
  
  
  
"WHAT?" Nick shouted as he spat the peanuts out from his mouth so he wouldn't choke on them. "How can this be?"  
  
"Nick, don't yell.. please.." Jennifer begged.  
  
"How could this have happened?" Nick paused. "Well, I know how it happened." He plopped down on the edge of the bed and placed his head in his hands and sighed. "I promised myself I would never do this to you. I want to be married. I don't want my kids going through what you went through."  
  
"What I went through? My parents not being married. Nick. I don't care about that. I had a great life. Where ever you go, I go. It has to be like that." Jennifer said.  
  
He looked at her. "Are you going to tell your father?"  
  
"I'm gonna have to soon. I just can't say I had a sudden weight gain." She sat next to him. "Nick, we're going to be fine. We can do this you know. It's not like were teenagers."  
  
"You're right." He sighed as he brushed his hand through his hair. "But I want you to move in with me. I want to do this the right way." He smiled. "So that's why you were in the bathroom. How long have you known?"  
  
"Only a few days. I was going to tell you sooner, but I didn't want to. I just freaked." Jennifer explained. "I guess I wasn't ready for it either." She paused. "Can we wait on telling my dad, for just a while. He's gone through so much already, I don't really need him having a heartattack."  
  
"Yeah. It's fine with me." He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. "But he needs to know. We just can't say one day, here's your grandkid Gil." He snickered.  
  
"I know. I know. Let's just enjoy the time that we have here. So.. what do you want to do Mr. Stokes?" Jennifer asked.  
  
"There's some movies on the tv, how abot we order some and watch it. Just relax. You've had a pretty rough day."  
  
"That sounds great to me." Jennifer got up from the spot she was sitting in and dialed the front desk to let them know about the movies.  
  
  
  
"Can I help you?" Wanda the CSI receptionist asked to a tall man.  
  
"Is Jennifer Grissom in please?"  
  
"No I'm sorry she's on leave for a few weeks. She'll be back soon. Would you like to leave a message?" She asked.  
  
"No. I'll come back later." He grinned wide then turned around. He got outside to his car and sat down in the drivers seat when he pulled out a newspaper clipping of Jennifer's picture. "My sweet Jennifer. I can't wait to meet you." 


	7. Secrets- Chapter 7

"So hows your trip going so far?" Catherine asked Jennifer who was on the other line.  
  
Jen paused. "Ugh, it's going okay. So far."  
  
"What? What's wrong?" Catherine asked. Jennifer loved Catherine. She was like a surrogate mother to her. Always looked out for her, despite Catherine having a daughter of her own. They were more like best friends. Both Jennifer and Catherine loved working cases together.  
  
"Nothing." Jennifer was obviously lying through her teeth.  
  
"Jennifer, don't lie to me. Somethings wrong. Now, cough it up." She demanded in a friendly tone.  
  
"Okay. Okay." She sighed once more. "I don't know how I'm gonna say this." She paused. "What ever I tell you Cath, you cannot say a word to my dad. Not just yet. Okay?"  
  
"Sure. You've got my promise."  
  
"Cath.. I'm pregnant." Jennifer blurted out. There was dead silence.  
  
"Is Nick..."  
  
"Yeah, he's the father."  
  
"Does he know? I mean you gotta tell him. You have, right?" Catherine asked.  
  
"Yeah, I did last night."  
  
"How did he take it?"  
  
"Well besides chocking on peanuts, pretty well. He's okay with it. He wants me to move in with him when we get back to Vegas."  
  
"Are you?"  
  
"Yeah, I am. And I'm excited about it too. I'm finally happy and this is what I've wanted all my life."  
  
"Well I'm glad you're happy." Catherine began. "Jen, why don't you want your dad knowing. He's gonna see the obvious soon."  
  
"That's what Nick said." She collected her thoughts. "I will soon. It's just that he's been through so much. I know he likes Nick, but this is just happening all so fast and I really don't want him to freak out. Nick and I are going to think of a good way to tell him. Please dont' tell anyone else. Please."  
  
"Don't worry about it. I won't. It's between you and I. I gotta get going. I promised Lindsey I'd take her our for pizza."  
  
"Yum. Sounds great. Tell her I say hi, and I'll see her soon." Jennifer said.  
  
"No problem. Give Nick a hug for me okay?" Catherine asked. "Talk later."  
  
Jennifer hung up the reciever. She layed back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Nick came into the hotel room from his errands and layed down next to her.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" He asked.  
  
"Everything. There's just a million thoughts running through my head." She took his hand. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"  
  
"Jennifer." Nick sat up and looked at her. "I'm totally fine with this. If this didn't happen now, when was it gonna happen? I'm thirty years old. It's about time I started a family." He smiled. "And I'm glad it's with you, because I couldn't imagine it being with anybody else."  
  
Jennifer smiled and nuzzled her head in his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and sighed. Life was perfect for Nick. He had a job he loved, a woman who he loved and was carrying his child. Everything was going right.  
  
  
  
He picked up the shiny covered yearbook. Santa Monica High School: Class of 1993. He opened it to the page where the bright pink bookmark stuck between the page. His finger skimmed the page until he got to the place where he wanted. It was a picture that was circled in red marker. Underneath the name read "JENNIFER GRISSOM". He flipped to the back of the book where the pictures of the graduates rested.  
  
There was another picture circled in red ink. It was Jennifer's. Underneath her picture it read.  
  
Jennifer Grissom, 17  
  
Nicknames: Jen, Twinkles, Butterfly  
  
Ambition: Crime Scene Investigator  
  
Fate: Fish gutter  
  
Most Memerable Moment: Mr. Schinelen's volcano project gone wrong.  
  
Best advice: "Living your life is a dream, but to live your life your way, is a gift. So live it the way you want to butterfly, for I am proud no matter what you do."- Gil Grissom [father]  
  
Favorite Quote: "I realize that dreams don't work without action." - Roseanne Barr  
  
He ran his finger over the color picture, smiling. He loved the way her hair fell around her shoulders. He loved how perfect her smile was. She had no flaws in his mind. Jennifer Grissom was perfect. And that's why he loved her. That's why he had to have her. And no one else could. 


	8. Secrets- Chapter 8

"So, how was your vacation?" Gil asked his daughter as he helped haul boxes into Nick's house. He still didn't know, but he knew that they were living together and he was fine with that.  
  
"It was unbelievable." She started. "Even though it wasn't Santa Monica, it felt like home. It felt peaceful."  
  
"Coastal towns can do that to you." He smiled as he placed the box carefully down on the carpet.  
  
"I think that's the last of them." Nick said as he carried the last box inside. "Jeez Jen. What do you have in here? The kitchen sink?" He snickered.  
  
"I was tempted, but you know. You have one so I decided not to." She laughed. "It's just my stuff. Which is now our stuff."  
  
"Yes Nick. I think you'll look lovely in one of her skirts." Grissom said sarcastically. "I'm going to head back to the lab. I'll see you later." He gave Jen a kiss on her cheek and smiled at Nick. "Don't forget about your shift tomorrow." He smiled and walked out of the house.  
  
"I'm going to forget about it now." He grinned as he grabbed Jennifer in his arms and pulled her in for a kiss. "I am so happy that you're here with me now." Nick paused. "You look tired. Why don't you get some rest."  
  
Jennifer looked drained and worried. "Look," Nick said as he took her head in his hands. "Those nightmares are just dream Jennifer. They're not real. Milander is dead. He's not going to hurt you, our baby or your father. And I'm here. When you wake up I'll be here. Why don't you just go lie down and take a nap and by the time you wake up, I'll have dinner made. Or ordered in."  
  
"Pizza?" She smiled.  
  
"Pepperoni, black olives, pineapple, mushrooms. Extra cheese." He laughed. "Just the way you like it. Now quit stalling and get your butt into that bedroom."  
  
"Okay, okay. I will." She paused. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too." Nick smiled as Jennifer walked off into the bedroom.  
  
  
  
Grissom sat down at his desk and sighed. His little girl has grown up. More than he knew. He glanced down at the desk and looked away when something caught his attention. A white envelope sat on the desk with 'Gil Grissom' written on the cover. He studied it carefully when Catherine walked into the room.  
  
"What's that?" She asked.  
  
"I don't know, I was just going to find out myself." He grabbed the envelope opener and sliced the flap. It was a card. He pulled it out and looked at the cover. 'Congratulations' it read in fancy writing. A puzzled looked washed over his face. He opened the card and in it read, 'Secrets can be bad, secrets can be good. But Mr. Grissom, there's a secret waiting for you.' No name was found anywhere in the card. "That's weird."  
  
"What?" Catherine said as she took it from him and read it herself. "No return address or no name? That is weird." She handed it back to Grissom who placed it back in the envelope and placed it in the top drawer of his desk.  
  
"I'll have someone look at it later. Right now I have a 419. I'm taking Sara with me. While you have a 405. Male, Roger Miller. Thirty-two. His body was found at the Hilton. Grab Warrick."  
  
"Suicide. Interesting." She bellowed.  
  
"Remember what I said. Never rule anything out. Despite what the code they called may be, you let science and the evidence tell you what really happened. Science over sight my dear Catherine." He grabbed his field kit and walked to the front entrance where Sara was waiting for him.  
  
"Thank you sensei for that wonderful reminder. And remember, wax on. Wax off." She said demonstrating with her hands. She turned around and rolled her eyes. 'Very corny Catherine, corny." She moseyed down the hall in search for Warrick Brown.  
  
  
  
He stood there in the shadows watching the couple make love. It turned him on, wishing he could take the place of the dark haired man. He watched how he moved his hands around her body. Every touch was gentle, every touch made her tremble. His hand slowly moving up her thigh as he would pull her closer, and closer and closer. She threw her head back in pleasure and he watched her every move. He closed his eyes and could picture making love to her. He was the one who would make her moan. He was the one who would make her tremble underneath his touch.  
  
"Nick." Jennifer cried out. He was snapped out of his bubble. She didn't say his name. He wasn't the one she was making love with.  
  
"Jennifer." He whispered as he buried his head into the pillow, his heartbeat still racing. He shifted underneath the sheets and kissed the nape of her neck.  
  
He stood there still looking on. Anger began to build inside him. She was his, not the man she was with. He couldn't possibly show her what love really was. But he could show her what love really was. He'd tread her like a queen, place her on the highest pedestal so he could admire her beauty. He would take care of her and the child she was carrying. He would make that child his.  
  
Soon enough, she would be his and everything would turn out the way he wanted it to be. 


	9. Secrets- Chapter 9

Catherine walked around the body for a few minutes to get a feel of what she may be dealing with. She always did that. Maybe Grissom was rubbing off on her. But unlike Grissom's warning, she got to know the victim better if she just spent a little time alone with the corpse. For she knows it was once a walking, talking, breathing human being like she.  
  
"So, what do you think happened?" Sara asked.  
  
"It doesn't feel like a suicide." Catherine began.  
  
"Feel?" Sara questioned.  
  
"You know that feeling you get once and while when something goes wrong. That feeling. And look at that coffee table. Who'd knock over a coffee table before they shoot themself? There was definately something else going on here."  
  
"Well, judging from the wine bottles, glasses and movies. Maybe a party." Sara said. She walked over to the bar in the corner of the swanky hotel room. She observed what was in front of her when something caught her eye. "Hey, Cath.."  
  
"Yeah?" She said photographing the body.  
  
"Broken wine bottle. But.."  
  
"But what?"  
  
"What doesn't belong on a green wine bottle?" Sara questioned.  
  
Catherine turned around puzzled. "What?"  
  
"Blood."  
  
  
  
  
  
"What do you mean the body is gone Jim?" Grissom asked. "You called it in."  
  
"Yes I know. But out of no where it dissapeared. The police officer went to answer a page from his car and when he came back it was gone. Vanished."  
  
"Jim. Bodies just don't vanish. It's scientifically impossible."  
  
"So now we have two crime scenes. A murder scene where a man was killed and a scene where the body was stolen." Grissom said annoyed.  
  
"Hey Gris." Warrick called. "You gotta take a look at this." Grissom came over with Jim and looked at the evidence that Warrick was shining with his flashlight.  
  
"Talk about giving somebody the finger." Jim joked. "Which one is that?" He asked looking at his own fingers.  
  
"The index finger." Grissom said as he photographed it then picked it up with his tweezers. "Missing body? Missing finger."  
  
"Could it be from the body?" Warrick asked.  
  
"Don't know. For that we'd have to find the body and to find the body we have to find out where it went and who took it." Grissom said.  
  
Warrick rolled his eyes. 'Pulling a double again Brown.' He said to himself. "Well let's get at it, before something else goes missing." He sighed and walked into the house.  
  
  
  
"What smells so good?" Nick asked walking into the kitchen and over to the stove where Jennifer was.  
  
"Breakfast. Hungry?"  
  
"Yeah. You didn't have to do this you know." He smiled pouring himself a cup of coffee.  
  
"I know. But I wanted to." She smiled and brought him his plate and sat down. "I've had way too much fun. I don't want to go back to work." She whined playfully. "Don't make me go."  
  
"Now, don't make me drag you in by your ear." He laughed. "Besides, before you know it the nine months will be here. Work will go by fast then you'll have your mat. leave." He said.  
  
"You're right. I know we just found out but.... I really want this baby to come now." She smiled.  
  
"I know. So do I. But it takes time." He took a sip of his coffee. "Oh this is much better than what's in the break room." He frowned. "I forgot we have to go back to that." 


	10. Secrets- Chapter 10

He looked at the pictures of her outside of her house. Her new house, he seethed. Kissing the man he hated, that man should be him. She was smiling. Oh, her beautiful smile. She was laughing. Oh, her wonderful laugh. The way her eyes lit up everytime she laughed or smiled. Hhe spritzed her favorite perfume around the livingroom. He loved the fragrance she wore. It made him feel peaceful inside. He picked up the VCR remote and pressed play.  
  
"As you know, it was reported that I was murdered late last evening. That as you can see is not true. It was a plan concieved by myself and Sheriff Mobley. We needed to find my father, crime scene investigator Gil Grissom. And the plan was a success. Unfortunatley, Mr. Paul Milander has been killed in leu of his actions. We are deeply sorry if this has effected anyone in anyway, that being the plan of faking my death. We meant no harm in anyway and we hope that the city of Las Vegas can understand. I would like to thank the CSI's that I work with, the Sheriff, and the police force of Las Vegas. Not to mention the great consituants of this great city for phoning in any clues regarding to this case. Once again I thank you for your unbelieveable amount of help and your cooperation." Jennifer smiled and stepped to the side allowing the Sherrif to speak.  
  
He stopped the tape and rewinded it a few frames. He paused it. Jennifer was looking right at him. Or he thought she was. Her beautiful brown eyes staring into his. Her blonde hair waving in the warm wind. 'God is she beautiful.' He thought to himself. That georgeous creature needed to be with him, not with that man she sleeps with every night. The man she makes loves with when ever they want it.  
  
He threw his bottle of beer across the room. It smashed into the wall. He was mad. "How can you be with him?" He shouted at the TV screen, acting like she can actually hear him. "You bitch, you're supposed to be mine. I'm the only man for you, he will never amount to anything. Anything." He stood up. He regained his composure and took a deep breath in then exhaled. "You will be mine.."  
  
  
  
"So, tell me.. Did you have fun?" Sara said walking with Jennifer down the hallway of CSI. "What was it like?"  
  
"It was.. Great. We had a really good time. I loved it."  
  
"What did you two do while you were there?" She asked holding a brown file in her hand.  
  
"I can't tell you that." She laughed. It was like Sara was the best friend Jennifer had in high school. The two girls who would tell everyone everything and anything. Well almost, but keep a few details to themselves.  
  
"Oh, so it was like that." She smiled.  
  
"Never you mind." She laughed as they headed into the lab.  
  
  
  
"So, did you.." Warrick hinted around the subject.  
  
"Did I what?" Nick asked.  
  
"Score the winning touch-down."  
  
"Warrick!" He exclaimed.  
  
"Well, I wanna know if my man here scored." They sat around the lockerroom talking like men usually do. It was so typical.  
  
Nick grinned..  
  
"He did. My brother scored. Alright." He high fived Nick and laughed. "Way to go Nick!"  
  
"What did you do Nick?" Grissom asked as he entered the locker room. Their faces went blank.  
  
Nick searched to find words but blurted out the only ones he could think of. "I went downtown to look for a ring for Jennifer." He sighed and Grissom's face turned white.  
  
"A ring." He repeated.  
  
"Well I haven't gotten one yet, but I will." He didn't really even look, he just said those words. "There's so many rings and well, Jennifer.. I want her to have the best."  
  
Grissom nodded. "So you're going to ask my daughter to marry you?"  
  
"Do you have a problem with that?" Nick asked defensively.  
  
"No. No. Not at all. She just moved in, I thought maybe you'd settle down for a while before you asked her. I mean, I knew you would ask her. You love her, and I can see that."  
  
"It's okay Grissom. I'm not trying to take Jennifer way from you. I would never do that."  
  
"I know Nick. I know. And I'm glad that you love her. I'm happy to see her happy." He paused and looked at Warrick. "Greg paged and said there's something we need to see."  
  
"Okay." He said and nodded. "Catch you later Nicky."  
  
  
  
"So, Greg. What do you have for us?" Sara said as she walked in with Jennifer.  
  
"Hey Jen!" Greg said, his face lighting up. "What's in the bag?"  
  
"Your game like I promised. You know, I never turn back on my promises."  
  
"I like. So are you on this case now?"  
  
"Yea and Nick is working with Warrick and Grissom." Jennifer said and looked up. In walked Nick, Warrick and her father.  
  
"What are you girls doing here?" Warrick said when Catherine walked in.  
  
"Party? Greg?" Catherine asked.  
  
"No, coincidence." He handed the blood tests to Grissom and Catherine. "In Grissom's hand, he holds the test from the finger found at his crime scene. And in Catherine's hand she hold the blood that was found at her crime scene."  
  
"Yeah so?" Catherine asked.  
  
"They match." Greg said bluntly. All looked at each other. "Your vitcim or suspect was at both crime scenes."  
  
"So let me get this straight. The finger found at Grissom's crime scene, was at my crime scene hours before he or she lost his finger?"  
  
"He." Greg said. "It's XX."  
  
"So, victim or suspect?" Grissom said.  
  
"I say victim." Warrick picked.  
  
"I think it's the suspect." Nick chimed in.  
  
"Well right now it's evidence." Gil announced.  
  
"Hey, you know what. You should take an ad out in the paper saying you found this finger and they can claim it later." Greg snickered.  
  
"Sara? If you lost a finger, what would you do?" Jennifer asked.  
  
"University Medical." Sara said. She smiled. "Let's roll. Catherine? Shall we grab Brass?"  
  
"I think so. Gil, are you going to hitch along?"  
  
"No. I think three ladies can handle themself along side Jim." He smiled. "I'll page O'Riley and see what we can dig up and the crime scene." He paused. "Scenes."  
  
"Right." She said. "Let's go girls." 


	11. Secrets- Chapter 11

"So, were you really gonna ask Jenn to marry you?" Warrick asked as he and Nick drove to the crime scene.  
  
"No." He paused. "Well yeah, but not right now. I guess now I have to. I wasn't just going to say I'm sleeping with Gris' daughter. Well I think he knows, but I don't want to come out and say it. But he's going to find out sooner or later and Jen's going to get big and..." Nick paused after realizing what he said.  
  
"Jennifer getting big?" Warrick asked trying to keep his eyes on the road. "Do you want to fill me in here Nick?"  
  
"Not really. Jen and I wanted to keep it a secret, but since she already told Catherine. And you swear you cannot tell Grissom about this. He's going to flip." He paused once more. "Jennifer is pregnant."  
  
"WHAT?" Warrick exlaimed and swerved the tahoe a bit before regaining control. He started to laugh. "Oh man. You got the boss' daughter pregnant. So that's why the two of you moved in together."  
  
"Yeah." Nick sighed once again. "It was going to happen eventually. But you know what. I'm happy. Maybe work will slow down just a bit in the upcoming months for both Jennifer and I."  
  
"Don't be too sure of yourself."  
  
"What? You don't think Grissom will give me time off? I mean it's my kid too. Not just hers."  
  
"Yeah I know, but who are we gonna get? I'll be damned if it's someone from day shift." Warrick expressed.  
  
"Don't worry. Jenn doesn't get that long of a mat leave anyways." The tahoe stopped at the house. "Hey, in an hour do you think I can go to the jewlery shop?"  
  
"I'm not stopping you. You're gonna get that ring huh?" He asked  
  
"Yeah. Better now than never." He smiled the shrugged.  
  
  
  
Sara, Catherine, Jennifer and Brass walked up to the emergency room desk at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada and waited for the nurse to gain their attention.  
  
"May I help you ladies? Is this an emergency." He nurse asked.  
  
"No, it's not. We're here on business." Brass said. "We're investigating a crime and we're wondering if anyone, a male, has come here in the last twenty-four hours seeking medical attention. You see his finger was chopped off or lost, or whatever."  
  
"Um, let me ask the attending doctor." She got up and walked into the back rooms. They all looked around and their noses twinged. Hospital smell. It smelled like geriatrics and cafeteria food. A few minutes later the nurse came strolling back in. "No, I'm sorry. No one fitting your description as come here."  
  
"Well if he comes in, please give me a call." Jim once again handed his card. It was a habit now and he was used to it.  
  
"Where else do you think he could have gone?" Sara asked. "A clinic maybe?"  
  
"Well if his finger was chopped off he'd be bleeding pretty profusely by now and if he was smart he'd check himself in." Catherine added as they walked into the parking lot.  
  
"If he was smart?" Brass scoffed. "This guy is a murder suspect. He wouldn't be that stupid."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Jennifer said as she noticed a man in his mid-twenties, scruffy looking but well cleaned with his hand bangaged. She pointed towards him and they all grinned.  
  
"Well, isn't this a suprise." Sara said. "Do you think it's him?"  
  
"Who else could have done that? A careless butcher who mistakenly missed the side of pork?" Jim joked. They walked towards him non-chalantly and finally approached him.  
  
"Sir." Catherine began saying with a fake southern accent. "I couldn't help but notice your hand. Have you been seriously injured?"  
  
"What's it to you?" He said rudely. Jim pulled out his badge and the man took one look at it and took off.  
  
Jennifer rolled her eyes, dropped her bag and took off after him. Jim darted towards the car and followed them. "I was the MVP on the track team in high school. You might want to stop cause I'm not gonna." Her heart started to beat faster as her adrenalin shot through the roof. Her footing became long strokes as she got closer. She reached out her arm and grabbed the guy by the back of the collar. "Why you running?" She said as she threw him down to the ground. "It makes you look suspicious." Jennifer tried to catch her breath when Brass skidded up beside them in the patrol car.  
  
"I ain't got nothing to say to you bitch." He shouted at Jennifer.  
  
"Wow.. Nice words." She replied. "Don't worry.. We've got all the time in the world. First you're going to get checked out, then we're taking you in."  
  
"On what charges?"  
  
"Being felony stupid." Braff scoffed. He picked up the man from the ground cuffed him and called in for police guard.  
  
  
  
  
  
Nick scowered the counter at a local jewlery store looking at the different rings. There were so many and they were all expensive.  
  
"May I help you?" The finely suited man behind the counter asked.  
  
"Yes, I'm looking for a ring. For my girlfriend." He said not knowing what to get exactly.  
  
"Do you have something in mind?"  
  
"No, not really. I thought maybe you can help."  
  
"Sure. Not a problem. Maybe we can start by you telling me what your girlfriend is like. Her personality?"  
  
"Okay. Um, she's outgoing, kind, friendly. Very attractive. Um, she's casual yet like to dress nice on occasion." Nick said trying the best to describe Jennifer's personality.  
  
"Well here are some that might fit her description." He pulled out a black box and opened it. We have simple ones like this hydra cut pear shaped diamond. Here is a round cut diamond on a platinum setting."  
  
"Can you show me the platinum bands please."  
  
"Certainly." The man who's nametag said Michael, pulled out another box from the counter. "Here's one, a emerald cut with baguette diamonds on each side."  
  
"Can I see that one please?" He asked again. Michael took it out carefully and handed it to Nick. He studied it for a while and really decided on it. "I'll take it." He smiled.  
  
"That's a fine choice sir." He said putting the other rings away. "And how will you be making this purchase? Cash, cheque, credit card, or on our payment plan."  
  
"Well, it depends. How much is it?" Nick asked still looking at the ring.  
  
"9,500.00." He said bluntly but sharply.  
  
"What?" Nick choked as his jaw fell.  
  
"It's one of our finest rings."  
  
"That's half of my salary." He sighed. "Payment plan." He said at the last minute.  
  
"Alright. If you come with me, we'll get hat set up."  
  
Nick really didn't care. He actually looked forward to putting the ring on Jennifer's finger but he needed to think of a way to suprise her.  
  
  
  
  
  
"We found your finger Mr. Jenner." Jennifer said. "Now, do you want to tell us how you lost it?"  
  
He was silent. "Not really."  
  
"We can always find out you know. We have our guys back at the crime lan processing it right now. We also found a broken wine bottle with your blood on it. Maybe that's how you lost it." Sara chimed in.  
  
He rolled his eyes. "I'm still not telling you. It ain't none of your damned business."  
  
"Ain't? What kind of language is that." Jennifer shouted as she leaned down to face him face to face. "Look, if you don't cooperate I'll make sure that a doctor doesn't look at your finger. I'll make sure you'll be in more pain, and I'll do that very easily. I don't have the patience right now for you to screw around. Because I'll find out. And when I do it won't be pretty."  
  
"Still ain't telling you." He protested.  
  
"Fine. Doctor, you can work on his finger without any anetheisa or pain medication." Jennifer said as the doctor nodded.  
  
The doctor got closer with the suchers and Adam Jenner began to flinch.  
  
"What? Is this cruel and unusual punnishment?" He shouted.  
  
"What? Can't take the pain? What a big baby." Sara hissed.  
  
He got even closer and closer and was about to touch the finger when.. "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! I'll tell you, just give me something man."  
  
"Finally." Catherine sighed.  
  
"He owed me some money. So I went to his hotel room to collect my share. When he refused to fork it over I swung at him with a vase. Then he broke the wine bottle. But my finger didn't come off completely. Not until later when I slammed it in the car door at my brother's house."  
  
"So, the man at the house is your brother? How did he end up dead."  
  
"Look, I have no idea. I came back from the jerks hotel room and my brother was there lying dead on the floor. I swear on the greenest pastures. I'll even take a lie dectector test. I'm being honest with you here."  
  
"Okay. Once you're finnished here we'll take you to the station." Brass said as he walked out into the hallway. "Do you think he's telling the truth."  
  
"I don't know." Sara said. "It's hard to tell."  
  
"I believe him." Jennifer announced.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't know. It's just something about him. I believe him." Jennifer glanced at her watch. After all this time searching, shift was over. "You can hold him right Brass?"  
  
"Yeah. We've got his DNA so we can."  
  
"Good. Cause I'm tired and I want to go home." Sara smiled.  
  
"Same here. You'll be okay Jim?" Catherine asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Jim smiled. "You ladies go home and get your beauty rest for tomorrow." He laughed. 


	12. Secrets- Chapter 12

Jennifer didn't even know why she had this CD in her car cd deck. She picked it up while shopping at Wal-Mart on a whim. She didn't really like Britney, but the CD was so damned catchy.  
  
Baby tell me, do I look like the kinda girl,  
  
That you'd wanna take home  
  
Wanna make me your own.  
  
Do you even know what I like?  
  
What I'm livin' for, what I adore.  
  
She laughed and rolled her eyes. Nick called her a teeny-bopper when ever he caught her singing to any of her songs. Besides that CD Nick and Jennifer had the same musical tastes. U2, Godsmack, Bush, anything alternative. Nick was always borrowing her CD's and vice-versa.  
  
She decided to stop off at the grocery store just to pick up a few things, maybe even something for dinner. She parked the car and grabbed a cart from the corral. The doors pinged when she walked through them and whirred shut behind her.  
  
There she was. Beautiful. Her long hair flowing, her green eyes sparkling. She was perfect. Perfect enough for himself. He followed her closely, but not to close. He didn't want to give himself away, just yet. He watched her pick up a few items and gently place them in her cart. Chocolate milk, eggs, spaghetti, ground beef, coffee, tea. Then she came to the aisle that she loved. The cereal aisle. She reached for the last box of Fruit Loops as did he. He touched her hand. Finally.  
  
"Oh I'm sorry." She said.  
  
"No. It's okay. Here why don't you have them." He said.  
  
"No, you were here first." She pardoned.  
  
"No I insist. I can always go to another store. They're my favorite." He said.  
  
"Mine to." She revealed. But he knew that. He knew that Fruit Loops was her favorite breakfast cereal. She'd even have them for a snack late at night when she had a late night craving attack. But he knew everything about her. Her likes, her dislikes. Her pet-peeves. Picking out hair from the tub's drain to be exact. He knew her dreams, her loves, her goals. He was also a man to be scared of.  
  
"Thank you." She smiled and it warmed his heart. "Are you sure you don't want them?"  
  
"No, it's alright. Have them. Please."  
  
"Thank you." She smiled and walked away to another aisle to finish her short shopping trip. She stood in the check out line reading a copy of In Style Magazine. Her favorite magazine. She could be on the cover, if they'd let her. He watched her graciously flip the pages and place her items on the conveyer belt as well like an art she had manned down to the T. She decided to buy the magazine as well. She always did. She could never put it down. She placed the bags into the cart and began to walk out to her car. 'Should I help her?' He asked himself. Nah. It would seem too submissive. It just may give him away. He needed to find the right time to make her, his.  
  
  
  
"So he was telling the truth?" Warrick asked. "So where does that leave us?"  
  
"Two dead bodies and still two crime scenes." Grissom said.  
  
"Does that mean we have to start over again?" Warrick asked again.  
  
"But of course my dear Watson. We've eliminated one suspect. And now we know who's finger it is. But we still have no other viable suspects. So we go back, re-examine and eliminate, eliminate, eliminate." Grissom pressed.  
  
Warrick sighed. Not another double. "Okay. I'll go get the kits." He rolled his eyes and swung his body towards the locker room.  
  
"Hey Grissom." Brass said walking around the corner. "Here's something interesting. Our one less a digit man, is missing a ring. Real gold with 40 tiny diamonds in it placed like a square. It was given to him by his rich dead grandfather, left to him in his will. Guess what finger it was on."  
  
"The detached one?" Grissom questioned.  
  
"Bingo."  
  
"So now we have to find the ring, which may lead us to our killer." Grissom added. 


	13. Secrets- Chapter 13

"Sir, we need to know who might have been in that room with you." Catherine questioned.  
  
"When I was going into the room a man was coming out."  
  
"What did he look like?" Sara asked.  
  
"Uh, he was a few inches taller than me. He has brown hair, had a goatee, a little chubby." He described to the criminalists.  
  
"Did he have any distinguished features?" Brass asked.  
  
"No. Not that I can remember. He scurried out of there kinda fast."  
  
"Now your brother, does he have any enemies that you can think of? People who might want to hurt him?" Catherine asked.  
  
"Not that I can think of. Everybody liked him. He was pretty popular in high school. And even now, he would never hurt anyone."  
  
"We have our people at his house right now looking for something that may lead us to his killer." Sara said in a gentle tone. "We'd like to thank you for your cooperation."  
  
"No problem." Adam said before he walked out of the interrogation room.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ice Cream?" Nick asked pulling the large gallon of sweet tastes from the paper bag.  
  
"I... couldn't help myself." Jennifer laughed. "I am eating for two you know."  
  
"Starting that already? Here you can put it in the freezer." He smiled.  
  
"Oh, okay." She said. Jennifer picked up the bucket and walked over to the fridge freezer. She opened the door and noticed a tiny black box sitting in the middle of the ice box. 'What the hell?' she asked herself. "Nick? What is this?" She grabbed the box and put the ice cream inside.  
  
"Oh that. Well." He said walking over. Nick grabbed the box and got on one knee. Jen's eyes widened at the sight before her. He took her hand, "When I first met you, there was something that I was attracted to. You kept pulling me in and wouldn't let go. I didn't care if you're the boss' daughter. And when I got to know you even more, I fell in love with you even more. You've shown me more in the times that I have known you than the time I've been living on this earth. You make me feel wanted." He sighed. She began to cry. "We have a baby on the way and we're living together. I just wanted to make it official. So..." Nick said as he opened the box to reveal the ring inside. "Will you marry me Jennifer Grissom?"  
  
She stood there looking on at Nick with tears in her eyes. "Yes!" She shouted. "I will." Jennifer threw her arms around him as he placed the ring on her finger.  
  
"I love you Jenn." He smiled as he gave her a soft kiss. "You don't know how much."  
  
"I love you too." She paused. "Now, what about dinner?" She laughed.  
  
"Ahh I see. Now I know what I'm gonna be used for. Making dinner." He chuckled. "What do you want?"  
  
"Ice cream." She laughed. 


	14. Secrets- Chapter 14

There she sat at the kitchen table reading the paper. Her new fiance, the man he hated had left her for work. She'd follow suit later. But he had to have her. His plan now went into action.  
  
Jennifer sat there reading the paper and sipping of coffee. In between lines she's stare at the ring on her finger and smile. She was about to flip the page when there was a knock on the door.  
  
He stood there in anticipation. Wait. Wanting.  
  
She opened the door only to find the man who gave her the Fruit Loops standing infront of her. She raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you?" She asked slowly.  
  
"You remember me?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah, you gave up the fruit loops the other day. What are you doing here? More important how did you know where I lived?" She questioned.  
  
"You might not remember me at all, besides the store. I was actually in your graduating class at Santa Monica High. Joshua Peters. Debate team, track team." He said.  
  
"Oh my god! Josh. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you. It's been a long time. Please, come in." She smiled stepping aside.  
  
He was in. Now his plan needed to go into effect.  
  
"Would you like something to drink? Coffee, water?" She asked still standing as he sat on the couch.  
  
"Coffee would be nice." He smiled. He watched her walk off into the kitchen. Quietly he followed without her knowing.  
  
He pulled out a cloth from a plastic bag drenched in chloroform. Slowly, but quietly he moved closer.  
  
"What do you take with it?" Jennifer called out not knowing he was behind her.  
  
He brought the cloth up to her mouth. "You." He spoke. She lost consciousness and dropped the cup to the floor where it shattered near her feet. Jennifer fell limp and he dragged her to the front door. He sat her in the chair and looked outside before bringing her out. He placed her gently in the car and bagged the chloroform and pocketed the plastic bag. He drove off at a normal pace not wanting to alert the neighbors.  
  
"Congrats my brother." Warrick said smiling. "How did she react?"  
  
"She flipped. First she got pissed because I stuck the ring in the freezer. But once she opened the box and saw what was in it, she forgave me. Instantly." Nick said recalling that moment.  
  
"So what did you do afterwards?" Warrick grinned.  
  
"That is none of your business." He laughed and paused. "Ate ice cream and watched movies." Nick added.  
  
Greg burst through the break room doors. "I need a raise for the work I do." He beamed.  
  
"Sit around drinking coffee and making paper cranes? Yeah, that needs a raise Greg." Warrick snickered.  
  
Greg looked at him with poker straight eyes. "No." He muffed. "The hair you found at crime scene number two where the finger was found, is a fake, a phony, a synthetic wannabe. Gentlemen your hair comes from a wig." He said proudly handing the paper to Nick.  
  
"So... our criminal could be masking his identity. Wore a wig to throw us off maybe?" Nick questioned the document.  
  
"Well he's dumb because he doesn't know that Greg Sanders, Scientist extroridinare, is working the case." He beamed once more.  
  
Warrick and Nick looked on with raised eyebrows then looked at each other. "We'll tell him that when we find him." Nick smiled and patted Greg on the back as they left the break room. 


	15. Secrets- Chapter 15

Her head pounded from the chemicals that were forced into her body by inhalation. She slowly opened her eyes, but she couldn't move her hands to her pounding head, her hands were tied behind her. She opened her eyes, but her vision was very blurry.  
  
"I see that you're awake." Josh said as he rose from his chair and walked over to Jennifer.  
  
"Where, where am I?" She asked groggily.  
  
"See, that I can't tell you." He stroked her face. "See, you looks better as a brunette." He pulled some of her hair forward to show that her hair was down dark brown. "You looked so much prettier and your green eyes glow even more radiantly."  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Her eyes now fixed on his.  
  
"Because I love you. And you're meant to be with me, not that show off of a criminologist. Jennifer, you're meant to be mine. And that child you're carrying is mine. Not his." He smiled, stood upright and walked out the door.  
  
She had to think fast. She needed to find away out of here, or a way to call Nick. She scoured the room. Damn, no phone. She remembered what Catherine told her incase any CSI was in this kind of a situation, after the death of rookie Holly Gribbs. "Try to make you're presence know as much as you can Jennifer. Scrape your attackers face, drag your feet on anything, drag your fingernails on the carpet. Spit. Do whatever you can."  
  
She looked around the room, and spat on the carpet. She scratched the wooden chair she was sitting in. Basically that was all that she could do, she was confined to an uncomfortable chair. She needed more time to think about what she was going to do. Maybe, just maybe, she could get Josh's trust, and she could get out of the chair and sit on the couch.  
  
  
  
"Jen!" Nick shouted from the front door. He juggled the groceries and the keys, trying to shut the door. "Jen! Can you help me here?" He shouted his question.  
  
He walked into the kitchen and placed the bags on the table. "Jennifer?" He asked looking around. He paused then noticed the broken coffee cup on the floor. "Jenn?" He shouted more worried now.  
  
He took a step forward when he noticed a while cloth on the floor. He picked it up carefully and took a whiff. "Oh god." He shouted as he frantically picked up the phone and furiously punched the numbers. "Gil. It's Nick. Jen has been kidnapped." 


	16. Secrets- Chapter 16

She sat there trying to loosen the rope tied around her wrists. He was still out, thank god. She glanced over at the clock. 10:15pm. She's been gone for over 3 hours. She didn't know if Nick was home or not, or if he got called in for shift. 'Where could he be?' Jennifer thought to herself. Her kidnapper had disappeared and it was well over an hour since she last seen him. A million thoughts were running through her head. But she needed to eat. She needed to nourish the baby inside of her.  
  
  
  
Nick paced back and forth in the living room as the team gathered what evidence they could in his house. He wasn't allowed to help. "Personal interest to the victim." Grissom bellowed.  
  
"Victim? Damnit Gil, Jennifer is not a victim. A victim is when someone is dead. And I have to help, I just can't sit here. DAMNIT!" Nick shouted as he pounded his fist into the wall. He winced, but ignored the pain. Finding Jennifer was more important than his swollen hand. "I have to go find her." He said grabbing his jacket from the rack on the wall.  
  
"No, Nick. You can't." Grissom said grabbing Nick by his arm. "We're doing everything we can."  
  
"How can you sit here when your own daughter is out there, in trouble! You have no idea what happened to her and your calm and collective Gil. I have to find her before something happens to our child." Nick spat out.  
  
A look of shock overcame Grissom's face. "What do you mean your child?" He demanded. Nick was silent. The cat was let out of the bag. "Damnit Nick, if there's something that I need to know that will help with this case you better tell me know or I'll have you arrested for with holding evidence. CSI or not."  
  
Nick sat down on the couch and ran his shaky fingers through his jet black hair. His mouth was dry from worry, but it was time. Not the right time to tell Grissom, but he had to. He didn't want to loose the job he loved so much. "Jen.." He paused. "Jen is.."  
  
"Spit it out Nick." Grissom screamed.  
  
"Jen is pregnant. We were going to wait to tell you, but now you know." He shot up from the where he was sitting. "That is why I have to find her. I don't want anything to happen to this baby. I love your daughter and you know that. But now I have to go and find her, before anything else happens to her and our unborn child. I can't loose neither of them Gil. Can you understand that?" He questioned with worry scribbled all over his face.  
  
Grissom stepped back and leaned against the wall, scrubbing his face with his hands. 'My baby is pregnant.' He said to himself. He stood upright. "Alright look. You go back to the lab. Grab Warrick and go searching. You call me immediately."  
  
"Will do." Nick nodded and ran out of the house and jumped into his Tahoe parked into the driveway. He threw the car in reverse, flipped the lights and sped down the road.  
  
"We've got an additional problem." Grissom said entering the kitchen looking at Catherine and Sara.  
  
"What?"  
  
"We need to get this evidence processed A.S.A.P and find Jennifer as fast as we can." Grissom paused and clenched his clip board so tight, that his knuckles turned white. "Jennifer is with child."  
  
Catherine and Sara gasped. "Is that why Nick ran out of here in a hurry?" Sara asked looking up from lifting shoeprints from the linoleum floor.  
  
"Yes. He's going to get Warrick and they're going to scan the city as much as they can." Grissom added.  
  
"Wow. That's a lot of space to cover. Don't worry Gil. We'll get this processed as fast as we can." Catherine stood up to go and print the living room. She leaned in and whispered, "We'll find her Gil. Don't worry. We'll find her." She patted his shoulder and walked over to the coffee table, kit in hand. 


	17. Secrets- Chapter 17

She jiggled the rope a bit more when she heard a car in the drive way. The engine shut off, and she heard footsteps on the gravel drive. She stopped the jiggling. She'd have to work on that later.  
  
The door opened and Josh stepped inside. "Sorry I'm late."  
  
"What took you so long?" Jennifer sneered.  
  
"Whoa. Attitude. Drop it." He warned. "Well I was at UNLV taking in the basketball game. I do have a life you know. But I knew you were here, safe and sound and you weren't going anywhere, so I stayed as long as I could. The game ended and grabbed something for you to eat." He showed her the take out bag.  
  
"I'm not eating that." She said.  
  
"But I thought you liked Italian."  
  
"I do, but god knows what you may have put in that." She said.  
  
"What? You don't trust me. I would never hurt you or our baby. Never." He said apologetically.  
  
"Can I order a pizza or something?" She asked.  
  
He looked at her. "I'll do it."  
  
"No, please. I would like to. I know this great pizza place on the strip. They make the best pizza in Las Vegas. And let me tell me, once you have a slice, you'll ever go back to the run of the mill pizzeria you've been ordering from." She turned on her charm. It was time.  
  
"Okay." He said walking to the phone and picking it up. He brought it over and undid the ropes. It worked! She got him to trust her. After all this bloke was delusional.  
  
Jennifer picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number.  
  
"Sanders." The voice on the other end said flatly.  
  
"Yes. I'd like the number two combo please." Jennifer said calmly.  
  
"JENNIFER!" Greg shouted as she sat up in his chair. "Are you okay? Where are you?" He spat out.  
  
"No. No anchovies please. Instead can I have...." She drifted off and turned to Josh. "What would you like on the pizza?"  
  
"Pineapple." He said sitting on the couch.  
  
"Pineapple. I'd like pineapple on the number two combo. 427?" She asked alluding to the code 427 which meant a kidnapping.  
  
"Jen where are you?" Greg asked.  
  
  
  
"Warrick man, we have to find her!" Nick said frantically in the locker room. "I can't let anything happen to her or our baby." Nick cried. He didn't care if he was crying infront of Warrick. He let his feelings all hang out, and besides. Warrick was a good friend. And he understood.  
  
"Don't worry Nick. We'll find her. Come on, let's go." Warrick smiled as he walked out into the hallway.  
  
  
  
Nick splashed cold water on his face, patted it dry and joined Warrick out in the hallway.  
  
  
  
Greg looked up from the desk and noticed Nick and Warrick walking buy. He grabbed a plastic cup and chucked it at the window. It slammed against the window making Warrick and Nick jump. Greg help up a piece of paper which read, "IT'S JENN! SHE'S ON THE PHONE!"  
  
Nick burst through the lab doors and Greg shushed him. "Jen, where are you?" Greg asked again.  
  
"20.86? Not a problem. I'll have that ready. The address?" Jennifer paused and turned towards her kidnapper.  
  
"1684 Aldman Drive." He said.  
  
"1684 Aldman Drive." Jennifer repeated to Greg. "Alright, 20 minutes top? Great, thank you." She hung up the phone and smiled. "It will be here in twenty minutes." She repeated and sat down at the table. "It's okay if I sit here right?"  
  
"I supposed. You don't need to be tied up anymore." He smiled and turned his attention back to the television.  
  
  
  
"That's where she is." Greg said pointing to the address he scribbled on a piece of paper.  
  
"Is she okay?" Nick asked frantically.  
  
"I don't know. She gave me this address like she was ordering pizza."  
  
"She didn't want to tip off her kidnapper. Did you hear the kidnappers voice in the background?" Warrick asked.  
  
"Faintly, but it's male. Definitely male."  
  
"Alright. Let's go." Nick said.  
  
"Wait!" Greg said. "You just can't waltz over there and bust in. He may hold her hostage. Think about it Nick." Greg added. "Let me go. I'll be the pizza delivery boy. I want to help."  
  
"No." Nick said.  
  
"Nick. Jennifer is a friend. She is a really good friend and I want to help. I just can't sit around here all day and work on these samples and not help. Please. Let me help."  
  
Nick looked at Warrick and turned back to Greg. "Okay, but we have to go. Hurry."  
  
"Yeah, I told her that the pizza would be there in twenty minutes. We don't have much time." Greg said shooting up from the chair. 


	18. Secrets- Chapter 18

"Joshua Peters is his name. Ran his prints through AFIS, he's on the list. Petty crimes. His latest was taking one too many dips in the chips. Fraud. He'd stick a quarter, attached to a string into the slots and pull it out. Big winnings, until the camera caught him. He got out a week ago. California tried to extradite him but was unsuccessful. His address is in California, but no local address is listed." Sara said looking at the computer screen  
  
"Maybe he's staying at a hotel." Catherine spoke.  
  
"But how, can a criminal who just got out of the slammer have money?" Sara asked.  
  
"Maybe he's got funds in a bank account that hasn't been touched since he was arrested. I'm going to go to the hotels and ask around. I'm taking Brass with me. Later." Catherine said exiting the print room.  
  
  
  
Jennifer sat at the table staring into space waiting for Greg to come and rescue her. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.  
  
"I'll get it." Josh said standing up and walking over to the door. There, on the other side. Greg Sanders stood, with a pizza box in hand, wearing grungy jeans and a baggy shirt, messed up greasy hair.  
  
"That's 20.76." Greg said with a tone.  
  
"Keep the change." Josh said handing Greg thirty dollars. Greg made eye contact with Jennifer, and she nodded. It was take down time, but she had to wait. Josh closed the door and brought the pizza over.  
  
"Thank god! I'm starving." Jennifer commented as she opened the box. "Now. Does that smell awesome?"  
  
"Yeah it does." He leaned in and kissed her on her cheek.  
  
Good god. She winced. How disgusting. She thought to herself. She couldn't wait till she was out of there and he was locked up. She sat there on the chair eating the slice of pizza that she had in her hand. She looked vyingly at Joshua. Waiting. Patiently. Soon she'd escape, and she'd be back at home with Nick. 


	19. Secrets- Chapter 19

"Nick, I think we should head back to the lab." Warrick said looking out the passenger side window.  
  
"No." Nick snapped. "We're staying right here. We're not leaving."  
  
"You were told to head back to the lab. We're now allowed to be here. If the police catch us, we'll be put on suspension. Now. Greg said Jennifer looked fine. Let's go before I punch you out right here and drive your knocked out ass to the lab myself." Warrick barked. "Do I make myself clear."  
  
Nick looked with wide eyes. "Alright. But the moment I hear something..."  
  
"Yes Nick. I know. I'm going to be here too. You're not the only one worried about her." Nick threw the car into drive and they slowly took off..  
  
  
  
There she slept on the couch. Tired. My precious darling, sleeping. She looked like a baby sleeping. I knew there was a reason I loved her. The way her hair falls around her face, the peaceful look she has upon her face. I need to touch her. I need to be sleeping next to her. He got up and hovered over her. He gently brushed back her hair and kissed the nape of her neck.  
  
Jennifer's eyes shot wide open. "What are you doing?" She demanded.  
  
"Shh.." He said. "I want to make love to you."  
  
She was shocked. "I think not." She said pushing him off.  
  
He was refused, this angered him. "But I have to have you." He forced his hand under her shirt.  
  
"Get off of me!" Jennifer screamed.  
  
"No!" He shouted back. "You're mine and that bastard isn't here to save you now. Now deal with it." He tried lifting her shirt off but she forced his hand away. They struggled and struggled for a few minutes, when Jen finally got enough power over her, she kneed him in the groin. He fell to the floor from the couch and curled into a ball.  
  
"What was that for?" He cried. "You're supposed to love me!" He grabbed her foot and she fell to the ground.  
  
She winced. She fell on her stomach. 'My baby.' She thought. Oh god was he going to pay for this. He pulled her closer. She kicked and screamed, but he kept pulling her closer, and closer. Jennifer looked to her left and noticed a book lying underneath the telephone stand. She reached for it. But was unsuccessful. He pulled her back. She kicked him in the shoulder and he yelped. She reached for the book, sat up and smacked him in the head as he came towards her. Joshua fell backwards and was knocked out cold.  
  
Jennifer reached and checked his pulse. Thank god. The bastard was still alive. She didn't want to kill him. No, that was murder. She scurried to her feet and grabbed his keys. Yea, it was stealing a car, but she needed to get away. Jennifer jumped in the drivers seat, fumbled with the keys. 'Pull yourself together Jennifer,' she ordered herself. It was time to get away.  
  
  
  
"I've searched every hotel in this damned city, and nothing." Catherine seethed slamming the folder on the break room table. "I feel useless."  
  
"Cath, don't beat yourself up over this." Warrick said trying to calm her.  
  
"We may have lost Holly Gribbs, but we are not going to loose Jennifer. I won't let it happen." Catherine flew out of the chair and disappeared down the hallway.  
  
  
  
Jennifer sped down the streets of Las Vegas. 'Slow down girl. You'll make it. He has no car to chase you in. Remember. You have it!' Jennifer said to herself. But she had to get away from him, and back to Nick. She had to tell him everything was okay.  
  
Sirens and lights began to flash in the background. 'Damnit.' She muttered under her breath. She sighed and pulled over. The police would understand if she told them who she was. There had to be a ABP out on her kidnapping.  
  
Jennifer pulled over and applied the breaks, when the back left tire blew out and sent her flying across the intersection, the car spinning out of control. CRASH. The car had slammed into the tree. 


	20. Secrets- Chapter 20

"White female, age twenty-seven. Jennifer Adams, BP one ninety over forty. She is three months pregnant, and her fiancé and father are in the waiting room." The paramedic said wheeling and unconscious Jennifer into the ER.  
  
"On the count of three, ready, one, two, three." The doctor instructed as they lifted her on to the table. "Okay I need a chest x-ray and an ultra- sound stat."  
  
  
  
Nick paced back and forth in the emergency's waiting room, thinking of the worst that could have happened to Jennifer. He just prayed that nothing would happen to her or their baby. Grissom sat sunken in the chair, watching Nick pace back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. It was getting tiring watching the CSI 3 pacing back and forth, back and forth. But that's what was happening in his mind. His only child was lying on an emergency room table, not knowing if she'd live or die.  
  
Sara stood looking out the window, her arms folded across her chest. Catherine leaning against the wall. It reminded her of the day that Holly Gribbs was shot. The waiting, the wondering. It killed her that her closest friend was hurting, and there was nothing she could do.  
  
The minutes seemed like endless hours, and each pain staking minute felt like another knife being plunged into their bodies. Nick finally sat down on one of the chairs, his chin resting on his interlocked fingers, staring at the semi-clean hospital floor. 'If I only stayed home.' He thought. 'Damnit Stokes, why did you have to leave?' He kept asking himself that over and over again, until it was drilled into his head. This was all his fault, and how was Jennifer going to forget him.  
  
No one was paying attention when the doctor walked into the waiting room holding a metal clip board. "Mr Grissom and Mr. Stokes?" He asked. Nick jumped out of his chair to his feet and Grissom was the exact opposite. He slowly rose to his feet.  
  
"How is she? How is my fiancé? How is our baby?" Nick rambled on frantically.  
  
"Mr. Stokes, it's okay. Jennifer is alright and so is your baby. She hit her head on the steering wheel, and has a concussion, some bumps and bruises, but she's fine. And so is your baby. You can go in and see her if you'd like.  
  
Nick rushed into the room where Jen was quietly resting. Grissom followed in suit as well as the other criminalists. Nick grabbed a chair, pulled it up, sat down and took Jennifer's hand.  
  
"Baby, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to leave you at home." He lifted her hand and kissed it. "This is all my fault, can you ever forgive me?" No one said a word, but all looked at Nick who was falling apart. 


	21. Secrets- Chapter 21

"Nick." Jennifer spoke softly. "This isn't your fault."  
  
He looked up from the bedside and everyone gasped. "Oh Jen. Thank god." He said kissing her hand a million times.  
  
Jennifer turned her head. "Hey dad. Hey guys. Don't be missing your shift on my expense." She joked.  
  
"We don't care." Catherine breathed a sigh of relief. "We just wanted to make sure you're okay."  
  
"I'm fine. My head just hurts a bit, and I think the doctor said I have a bruised rib, just don't try to make me laugh." Wrong, she made herself laugh and it hurt.  
  
"We'll let you rest okay?" Sara said smiling.  
  
"Yeah, get better girl." Warrick chimed in.  
  
"Thanks you guys. Really. And tell Greg I said hi and thanks." I smiled.  
  
"I'm gonna go too." Grissom added. He leaned down and kissed her on her forehead. "Get your rest butterfly okay?"  
  
"Alright." She smiled.  
  
"Yeah, I'm gonna go too." Nick said getting up. She grabbed his hand as he tried to leave. "No. Stay please. Don't leave."  
  
"Jen..." Nick said as he sat on the edge of the bed. "I will never leave you. Ever. I promise." 


End file.
